There is a new way for people who are deaf or hard of hearing to enjoy live theater in Philadelphia. It’s a different kind of closed captioning that’s embedded in smart glasses.<\/p>\n
People say it’s a big improvement over other technology that’s currently available in theaters for people who have trouble hearing.<\/p>\n
Judy and George Schofield love the theater at Temple University, even on rehearsal days. Now, the experience is enhanced for George Schofield with the new smart glasses.<\/p>\n
They’re new-age closed captioning glasses, designed for the theater.<\/p>\n
George Schofield, who’s 79 and has trouble hearing, can read what’s happening on stage while also watching the performance. He was the first person to try the glasses during the recent production of Macbeth.<\/p>\n
“It was exciting, because I didn’t have to miss out on what was happening on the stage,” he said.<\/p>\n
The technology called WatchWord Live sends lines from the script through Wi-Fi to the glasses.<\/p>\n
“It’s not so terribly different from having captions on your TV when you’re watching one of your favorite movies or television shows,” Lisa Sonneborn with Temple’s Institute on Disabilities said.<\/p>\n
She has been working for years to get this technology at Temple.<\/p>\n
“We have such a long history of innovation, to build on that rich tradition, to bring something to our community that hadn’t been offered before, just sounded very exciting,” Sonneborn said.<\/p>\n
“I think anything we can do to make things accessible for other people is wonderful in every sense of the word accessibility,” Judy Schofield said.<\/p>\n
Now, the Schofields can share the theater experience together, with George Schofield no longer missing out on what’s being said.<\/p>\n
Temple University has four pairs of the smart glasses and is offering them for free to people who have hearing trouble. They’re also being used in a couple of other Philadelphia theaters.<\/p>\n
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